To Be Needed
by szhismine
Summary: Charlie's going through withdrawal and his pain is made worse. CharlieClaire. Post- Confidence Man. My first Lost fic, so please be nice. Reviews and consructive critism welcome, no flames please.


Title: To be Needed

Summary: Charlie's going through withdrawal and his pain is made worse. Charlie/Claire. Post- Confidence Man. My first Lost fic, so please be nice. Reviews and consructive critism welcome, no flames please.

Charlie hummed as he strummed his guitar. At least ten different songs popped into his head and he coudn't really decide which one to play, so he contented himself with playing any random tune. Right now he was stuck on You All Everybody.

A sudden spasm went through him and caused him to miss a note. It had been days since his last fix, days since he dropped what he used to think was his last life-line into the fire. The pain would sometimes dissipate, other times he regretted getting rid of his heroin as he shook uncontrollably.

No one knew about his bouts of painful detox, and Locke and Jack didn't know much about it either. Charlie would either go a little ways into the jungle, out of sight, or he would go in a dark corner of the caves whenever he felt really sick. Locke would always talk to Charlie, and make him go walking with him. Jack would make sure he drank enough and got rest. They both shot concerned glances at Charlie several times a day and paid close attention to him. Of course they were both busy alot, therefore they couldn't always watch over him. And interestingly enough, neither of them knew the other one knew.

Charlie hated it and appreciated it at the same time. He hated being watched over by two people, it was like a mother-hen relationship. On the other hand he hated being alone. He almost wanted to tell either one of them about the times he huddled up and wished he were dead.

No one else noticed the amount of pain he was in. Everyone else thought he was still suffering the flu, thanks to Jack. Of course having a flu while stranded on an island is something to be pitied for, but that's as far as it went. Few people really cared, at least that was Charlie's opinion.

Charlie thought back to the day of the cave-in, when he volunteered to save Jack. He was alone. He didn't have anyone on the island... except for maybe Claire.

Charlie thought about her for a moment. He had finally managed to convince Claire to go to the caves with him. He almost gave up looking for peanut butter, and then he got the idea. He didn't know if it would work, and he was afraid he would look like a real idiot, but it did work. Claire moved to the caves the very same day. It was important she be at the caves with him. He didn't understand why, yet at the same time he did. He loved her smile, her laugh, her accent, her bright outlook... she made him feel important. No one ever did, unless you counted his fans. Fans of a band that mostly consisted of him and Liam... or just Liam, from Liam's point of view.

Charlie couldn't believe the way things turned out. He was once a good, religious man... then he became a junkie. Liam went from a junkie to a good, probably religious man, as well as father and husband to boot. It made no sense. Charlie knew from the beginning that the band wasn't such a great idea. It had been about the music... they both had a passion for music. Then it turned into a huge, sinning lie.

A noise distracted him from his thoughts and his playing and he looked up at Claire, who sat next to him. "You're really good Charlie," she said.

"Thanks," he replied as he kept fingering the chords.

"How long have you been playing?"

"Oh..." Charlie tried to remember. "Ever since I was young. My mum signed me up with guitar lessons when I was like, six. I would always be playing around with my dad's guitar and she was afraid I would end up breaking it, so she bought me my own to break."

Claire laughed, and Charlie grinned. He put his guitar gently back in its case and stood up. "I'm gonna go on a walk."

"Really? Are you sure that's safe?"

"I'm not gonna go too far in," he promised.

"Okay... but take it easy, you look a little pale."

Pale. Great. Another effect from withdrawal. Trying not to think of withdrawal, he made for the jungle. He figured a walk would do him some good. He passed Jack on the way, right before he lost his balance and stumbled. Jack reached out to help steady him. Charlie gave him a small smile. "Thanks man."

"Charlie are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm just going for a walk, that's all."

"Alright. Be careful."

Charlie nodded and continued on. About ten minutes in he felt a sudden, sharp pain go through his right ankle. As he bent down to check it out another spasm go through him, this one much more intense. His body was suddenly filled with a fiery pain and he was overcome with dizziness. His chest seized and he couldn't breathe. He didn't know what was happening. He vaguely wondered if withdrawal was gonna be this torturous in the future before he started falling... and was caught by a pair of hands.

Jack gently lowered him to the ground. His doctor's instincts told him to follow Charlie in the jungle, and once again he was right. He checked Charlie's pulse, which was still there, but erratic and weak. Charlie seemed to be on the brink of unconsiousness. "Charlie?" he asked while checking his pupils. They were large and dialated, a bad sign. "Charlie?"

Charlie coughed, and his breathing became a bit easier. "Easy Charlie," said Jack. "Take deep, steady breaths."

Jack heard someone coming from his right. It was Locke. He knelt down next to Charlie. "Is he alright?" he asked.

"No I'm bloody well not alright," Charlie whispered.

"Easy man, save your strength," Jack soothed.

"It's the withdrawal," Locke said, figuring he might as well Jack.

Jack glanced at him, surprised. "You know?"

"Yes, I'm the one who discovered he was using," Locke explained. He frowned. "You know?"

"Give me some credit, I am a doctor," Jack replied.

"So what do we do?" Locke asked.

"We have to carry him back to camp, there's no way he can walk like this. You take his legs," Jack instructed, him and Locke getting into position.

Charlie lost conciousness completely by the time they got back to camp. It was Walt who first saw them, then the entire camp was alerted. "What happened?" asked Hurley, concerned. Claire stood up in horror and made her way towards them.

Jack and Locke eased Charlie to the ground. "He collapsed," Jack said. "Someone get me some water."

Michael went to the spring and filled a bottle with the clear water, and gave it to Jack. Jack put it to Charlie's lips and a trickle of it went in his mouth. Charlie swallowed and coughed again. He opened his eyes blearily. "What..."

"Easy Charlie..." Jack put a hand to Charlie's forehead. It felt hot. "Are you in any pain?"

"Bloody hell, yes..." Charlie replied. He licked his lips. "My entire body... my head..." he gasped. "My ankle..."

"Your ankle?"

"Yeah..." Charlie frowned. He remembered the sharp pain he felt before passing out. Since when does withdrawal make your ankle hurt?

Jack seemed to be thinking the same thing. "Which ankle?"

"Right."

Jack inspected his ankle. It didn't feel broken... then he pulled up the pant leg and saw two little bites there. The skin around it was pink and inflammed. "Oh my god..."

"What is it?" Locke asked.

"A... a snake," Jack stammered. "Charlie was bitten by a snake."

Charlie's eyes widened. "What?"

Jack glanced at Charlie. "Don't worry, you'll be alright."

"How the bloody hell are you gonna cure a snake bite in the middle of the bloody jungle?"

Claire knelt down next to Charlie. She was sick with worry when she saw Charlie being carried in, and she almost fainted when Jack said he was bitten by a snake. She could tell the venom was already at work. His face was paler than it was when he left, making the dark circles under his eyes even more pronounced. His breathing was hitched and he was shivering. "Easy Charlie, try and relax," she said in her rich Austalian accent.

Claire didn't know why she moved. She loved the beach, she loved the beautiful water, and she wanted to be there when she was rescued. She didn't know why Charlie wanted her to go to the caves. Until he pretended an emtpy jar was full of peanut butter. That had to be the sweetest thing anyone ever did for her. She realised when he "scooped" some out and said it was the best peanut better he ever tasted that he truly wanted her to be with him. She knew in that moment how Charlie felt for her. How could anyone resist that? Not to mention who could resist Charlie? Ever since he helped her with her luggage she felt drawn to him. It was so hard to explain, and when she wrote of Charlie in her diary she used every single synonym that could come to mind for him. She never felt like this, not even for Thomas.

And now Charlie needed her. When she became pregnant, she felt honored that a being depended totally on her. Right now she was feeling that again. He looked at her with pleading eyes. "Claire..."

"Shhh..." Claire said, stroking his hair. "It's okay Charlie. It's okay." She looked at Jack. "Can't you do something?"

"I might have something to help with the pain, but I need the snake that bit Charlie to actually cure him."

"How can you find it? It'll be long gone somewhere in the jungle by now." Hurley said.

"I'll go look for it," Locke said.

"What? Dude, I know you're good in hunting and stuff, but how can you track a snake?"

"I'll do whatever it takes. I'll capture every damn snake on this island if I have too."

Locke went over and got his bag and some other equipment. As he did that, Jack inspected the bite. There seemed to be an infection as well. Then he measured the bite.

"Locke, the snake's fangs are about four centimetres apart. It's important that you find the right snake, and since we don't know what it looks like you should try and judge by its fangs. Four centimetres."

"Alright. The snake must at least look poisonous, so I have that to go on too."

"Good luck, man," Michael said.

"Yeah, and please hurry," Claire added.

Locke looked at her for a moment and he could see genuine fear and concern in her eyes. "Don't worry," he said before heading off in the direction where Charlie was bitten by the snake.

TBC

review please! :)


End file.
